And she’s dating Sam Morneau, everyone’s ultimate celebrity crush. Of course, no one is supposed to know about that.

As it turns out, no one is supposed to know about a lot of things that happen behind the scenes of life with the planet’s most popular boy band. Now, what should be Happily Ever After for Mel and Sam is turning into a series of secrets, manipulation, and potential heartbreak… Just in time for The Kind of September’s world tour.

Review:

Rating : 4/5 stars

Thanks to the author for providing me with a review copy 💕

Things I liked about this book:

● From the very beginning, Backstage had this aspect of suspense. With the cliffhanger ending of the previous book, the story took a tense turn, and I had to find out what happens next.

● The lead couple, Sam and Mel were so cute 💕

● As with the first book, in this one too, I felt really personally invested in the lives of the characters.

● The writing style is simple, sweet and relatable.

● THE ENDING. Jacqueline E. Smith knows exactly where to end her books. I increased the rating by one whole star just because of the ending. It makes you feel like jumping on to the next book ASAP!

Things I didn’t like about the book:

● It felt a little cliche at times, and some incidents in the book reminded me of real life celebrities, and unfortunately I am not very fond of those same celebrities and their actions. (Wow that sounded so much meaner than I intended it to be 😓)

Overall:

I feel like people who like to read YA novels about romance and friendship and life problems and who love fangirling over boy bands and celebrities (like I do) should DEFINITELY give this series a go ❤

**This story was inspired by true events. If you liked the movie “Sleeping With the Enemy”, then you might like this story too. CONTENT WARNING: Violence, foul language, and adult situations. Not meant for younger readers.**

A ROMANTIC SUSPENSE NOVEL. No one knew a woman lived there or that she even existed. A monster, living in darkness…

At twenty-two, Nicole doesn’t even look human anymore. The beast made sure of that. So she hides. A monster, consigned to a life of fear and solitude. This is all she deserves, she is quite sure of that. And then one day out of the blue, the autographed baseball caught by Brian Jensen at the latest Marlins game enters her prison and manages to turn her world completely upside down.

Temptation comes in the form of pity at first, and then perhaps something more. Does she dare to believe the things she’s told, that this is not the life she was meant to live? That being a monster is not her forever-fate? And will she be willing to risk everything, to reach out and accept the helping hands around her and share her deepest, darkest secrets? She knows only too well that hands can hurt. Finding out whether they can also heal is a risky proposition, especially when the beast is still out there. Looking for her.

Elle Casey is a prolific, NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling American writer who lives in Southern France with her husband, three kids, and several furry friends. She writes in several genres and publishes an average of one full-length novel per month.

“Maybe I’ll get lucky tonight and he’ll cheat on me and sleep somewhere else. Nicole says that to herself as a joke. He definitely cheats on her, but he never sleeps anywhere else, probably because he worries she’ll decide to go out again. He should know better. She’s too well-conditioned to dare doing that again. Besides, the locked doors make it kind of difficult.

She glances over at the table by the door that’s lit with the streetlights’ glow coming through the transom window. The framed picture is there, mocking her. She’s tried to get rid of it several times, but the monster won’t let her. It has to stay, he says, to remind her of what she’s done.

The sound of a car coming down the street makes her entire body go tense. She’s gotten very good at detecting the type of vehicle that approaches by the sound of its engine. This one roars loudly, so she knows it’s a truck. She gets up from the couch, her body stiff, and shuffles towards the front window. Twitching the curtains to the side the slightest bit is enough to tell her. Yes. It’s him.

She twists around and looks at the clock behind her. It’s late. Where has the time gone? I must have been dozing off again. Dammit! He’s been to the local bar after work.

Rushing to the kitchen, she gets a beer out of the refrigerator and scrambles to open the drawer where the opener is kept. Her hands tremble as she fits it into position over the bottle and uses it to lever the cap off. As the top flips over, she loses her hold on it, and it falls to the floor in the dark kitchen, rattling around on the tile.

“She puts the bottle down on the counter and nearly cries when some of the beer foams up and comes out the top to spill over the edge.

“Find the cap! Find the cap! Where are you, dammit?” She moans, patting the floor desperately with her hand, nearly weeping with relief when her fingers finally make contact with its jagged metal edges.

The engine goes silent. A moment later the truck’s door shuts with a muffled clunk.

“Shit, shit, shit!” she whispers, grabbing the dishtowel off the hook and hurriedly wiping the bottle and counter down. They cannot be wet, no matter what.

The sound of heavy footsteps on the front porch comes through the door…..

Yes, yes, yes! I’m finally doing this review and playlist!!! *sigh* I loved this book soooo much!!! *jumps up and down in excitement* *and then suddenly stops* But I also HATED it..

Confused?? Read on..

REVIEW:

“My name is Calla Price. I’m eighteen years old, and I’m one half of a whole. My other half—my twin brother, my Finn—is crazy. I love him. More than life, more than anything. And even though I’m terrified he’ll suck me down with him, no one can save him but me. I’m doing all I can to stay afloat in a sea of insanity, but I’m drowning more and more each day. So I reach out for a lifeline. Dare DuBray. He’s my savior and my anti-Christ. His arms are where I feel safe, where I’m afraid, where I belong, where I’m lost. He will heal me, break me, love me and hate me. He has the power to destroy me. Maybe that’s ok. Because I can’t seem to save Finn and love Dare without everyone getting hurt. Why? Because of a secret. A secret I’m so busy trying to figure out, that I never see it coming. You won’t either.”

Last summer, I had read the Beautifully Broken series by Courtney Cole. Very cute, very chick-lit, but thoroughly interesting in its own sphere. A few months later, I come across the blurb for Nocte. My reaction- Wait, what? This is written by Courtney Cole?? Isn’t she the one who wrote Beautifully Broken??

And then I read this book.

Totally life-altering decision.

First of all, the concept. Lord, the idea. Throughout the first book (and the second), I had no clue what is going to happen to the storyline. I wasn’t even sure of the genre of this book!! But I just. couldn’t. put. it. down.

Next, the characters. Calla was one awesome, frustrating, twisted heroine. Finn- I refuse to discuss him. Dare- *swoons on spot*

Did I mention that this book has a lot of Latin phrases? ❤

*shivers* I read this book months back, but it still haunts me. Maybe because I’ve been dumb enough not to read the third book. Oh wait, the third book hasn’t even released ! *angry face*

You can read this book. In fact you totally should. I gave it 5 stars. So did thousands of other people.

Buuuuut, consider yourself warned.

“Don’t ask, because I can’t tell you right now. Everyone has secrets, Calla, even me.”

“I’m doing all I can to stay afloat in a sea of insanity, but I’m drowning more and more each day.”

” Save me, and I will save you.”

PLAYLIST:

I must be crazy to be making a playlist for this…

1. Down- Jason Walker

I thought I could fly, so why did I drown? Never know why it’s coming down, down, down.

2. Comfortably Numb- Pink Floyd

This is not how I am I have become comfortably numb

3.Paradise- Coldplay

When she was just a girl She expected the world But it flew away from her reach

4. My Immortal- Evanescence

‘Cause your presence still lingers here And it won’t leave me alone

These wounds won’t seem to heal This pain is just too real There’s just too much that time cannot erase

5. I’ll Follow You Into The Dark- Death Cab For Cutie

If there’s no one beside you When your soul embarks Then I’ll follow you into the dark

6. Closer- Kings Of Leon

With the moon I run Far from the carnage of the fiery sun

7. Monster- Imagine Dragons

I get the feeling just because Everything I touch isn’t dark enough That this problem lies in me

8. Echo- Jason Walker

Cause my echo, echo Is the only voice coming back Shadow, shadow Is the only friend that I have

9. Come Away To The Water- Maroon 5

Come away little lamb come away to the slaughter To the one appointed to see this through We are calling for you

My head is spinning. (Side effect of reading or thinking about this book.)

When Bree Prescott arrives in the sleepy, lakeside town of Pelion, Maine, she hopes against hope that this is the place where she will finally find the peace she so desperately seeks. On her first day there, her life collides with Archer Hale, an isolated man who holds a secret agony of his own. A man no one else sees.

Archer’s Voice is the story of a woman chained to the memory of one horrifying night and the man whose love is the key to her freedom. It is the story of a silent man who lives with an excruciating wound and the woman who helps him find his voice. It is the story of suffering, fate, and the transformative power of love.

REVIEW:

There is something so beautiful about Mia Sheridan’s writing style. Every chapter is just as interesting as the last one, and you just CAN’t let go of the book unless you finish it. As for this particular book, I think Archer’s Voice is my favorite Mia Sheridan book till date, and also resides in my top 50 books list. I remember telling the entire story to two of my friends in the school bus, I was so desperate to share it!! I laughed and cried with this book, and couldn’t stop thinking about it for a long while..

Archer stole my heart with his innocence… yes, innocence! I know that as a Christian Grey-admirer its weird for me to like an innocent hero, but Archer isn’t really the typical inexperienced sweet hero either..On the other hand Bree was one of the best heroines ever. I mean, she’s not naive, she’s not stupid, she’s not Miss-indecisive-Bella or Miss-oh-I’m-so-innocent-Steele. So yeah, Bree rocks! 😀

I think I’m terrible at writing reviews.. All I do is simply PLEAD you guys to read the books since I don’t want to put in spoilers. So ya, I’m going to do that here too! Please read this book, if you like it then thank me, if you don’t then…. 😛 I have nothing to say if you don’t like THIS book , no offense!

And oh, this was also the Sagittarius section of the Sign Of Love series, and since I’m a Sagittarian… 😛

PLAYLIST:

My favorite part of this kind of a post!

1.Unwritten- Natasha Bedingfield

“Drench yourself in words unspoken Live your life with arms wide open Today is where your book begins The rest is still unwritten“

2. Astronaut- Simple Plan

“Can anybody hear me? Or am I talking to myself? My mind is running empty In the search for someone else Who doesn’t look right through me. It’s all just static in my head Can anybody tell me why I’m lonely like a satellite?”

3. Everything has changed- Taylor Swift ft. Ed Sheeran

“All I know is you held the door You’ll be mine and I’ll be yours All I know since yesterday is everything has changed“

4. Crazier- Taylor Swift

“You lift my feet off the ground You spin me around You make me crazier, crazier Feels like I’m falling and I am lost in your eyes You make me crazier, crazier, crazier“

5. Tangled Up In You- Stain’d

“And in this world Where nothing else is true Here I am Still tangled up in you”

6. Here Without You- 3 Doors Down

“But all the miles that separate Disappear now when I’m dreaming of your face

I’m here without you, baby But you’re still on my lonely mind I think about you, baby And I dream about you all the time I’m here without you, baby”

7. In My Veins- Andrew Belle (This one was mentioned in the book)

“Oh, you’re in my veins And I cannot get you out Oh, you’re all I taste At night inside of my mouth Oh, you run away ‘Cause I am not what you found Oh, you’re in my veins And I cannot get you out”

8. She’s My Kind of Rain- Tim McGraw

“She’s my kind of rain Like love from a drunken sky Confetti falling down all night She’s my kind of rain

She’s the sunset’s shadow She’s like Rembrandt’s light She’s the history that’s made at night She’s my lost companion She’s my dreamin’ tree Together in this brief eternity

Summer days Winter snow She’s all things to behold

So I wait And I try I confess all my crimes”

Like always, I’d like to end by saying, even you haven’t or won’t, read this book, atleast listen to the songs. I always choose the best for my playlists. 😀

“No one knew a woman lived there or that she even existed. A monster, living in darkness…

At twenty-two, Nicole doesn’t even look human anymore. The beast made sure of that. So she hides. A monster, consigned to a life of fear and solitude. This is all she deserves, she is quite sure of that.

And then one day out of the blue, the autographed baseball caught by Brian Jensen at the latest Marlins game enters her prison and manages to turn her world completely upside down.

Temptation comes in the form of pity at first, and then perhaps something more. Does she dare to believe the things she’s told, that this is not the life she was meant to live? That being a monster is not her forever-fate? And will she be willing to risk everything, to reach out and accept the helping hands around her and share her deepest, darkest secrets? She knows only too well that hands can hurt. Finding out whether they can also heal is a risky proposition, especially when the beast is still out there. Looking for her.”

I don’t have much to say about this book except that it is extremely beautiful and inspiring. It was even better than the blurb description- which is kind of bland and cliche compared to the amazing storyline. Oh, and apparently its based on true events. *shudder*

PLAYLIST:

1. Skyscraper- Demi Lavato (Describing Nicole’s brave heart)

“Do you have to make me feel like There’s nothing left of me?”

2. Watching you- Rodney Atkins (Brian and Liam)

“Yeah we’re just alike, hey ain’t we dad I wanna do everything you do So I’ve been watching you”

3. Dandelion- Kacey Musgraves

“Sent you dancing on the breeze And like a stupid little girl I spent my wishes on a weed Thinking it could change my world”

4. Only Hope- Mandy Moore

“So I lay my head back down And I lift my hands and pray to be only Yours I pray to be only Yours I know now you’re my only hope”

5, Innocent- Taylor Swift

“It’s alright, just wait and see
Your string of lights is still bright to me
Oh, who you are is not where you’ve been.
You’re still an innocent,
You’re still an innocent.”

6. Fix You- Coldplay

“Lights will guide you home And ignite your bones And I will try to fix you”

7. Begin Again- Taylor Swift

“And you throw your head back laughing like a little kid I think it’s strange that you think I’m funny ’cause he never did I’ve been spending the last eight months Thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again”

8. I feel pretty/unpretty – Glee Cast (Nicole’s final feelings for her ex.. sorry, I keep forgetting his name)

“I wish I could tie you up in my shoes Make you feel unpretty too I was told I was beautiful But what does that mean to you Look into the mirror who’s inside there The one with the long hair Same old me again today”

🙂 Even if you haven’t read the book, you can listen to the songs- they are pretty awesome (according to me)

“She was mine, had always been, and I’d always been hers. Despite what I’d done, the wounds I’d inflicted, she had always been mine…. our hearts had been tied, our bond one that neither of us could ever escape.”

There are some mistakes we make that we will regret for the rest of our lives. For Christian Davison, it was the day he betrayed Elizabeth Ayers. For five years, Christian has regretted the day he walked away from his family and will do anything to win them back. Can Elizabeth forgive someone who has committed the unforgiveable? Or are there some wounds that go so deep they can never heal?

“Once again, I found myself on the edge looking down, wondering when I’d get so close that I’d fall. Or maybe I’d just jump.”

The blurb does NOT do the book justice. But since I don’t want to give anything away, I guess this is all you will get. This book…its sooo beautiful. The idea is fresh, the characters are amazing. Little Lizzie is going to tug at your heartstrings with all her cute dialogues and sympathetic situation. Elizabeth is a strong protagonist, although she IS a bit frustrating at times. And Christian- *sigh* Its so easy to understand why Elizabeth fell for him inspite of his flaws. Not your typical ‘perfect’ hero. In fact, I hated him in the first chapter, and then hated myself for falling for his charms the next chapter onwards. And of course, the alternating POV just makes it better. Its safe to say that this book is, and will be, one of my all-time favorites.

(I’m still making the playlist for the sequel, If Forever Comes, and will be posting it soon)

DREAM CAST:

Christian:

Elizabeth:

Lizzie:

PLAYLIST:

1. Wasting All These Tears On You- Cassadee Pope (flashback to 5 years back)

And you left me Standing on a corner crying, Feeling like a fool for trying

2. The Lonely- Christina Perri (Elizabeth’s POV)

Dancing slowly in an empty room, Can the lonely take the place of you?

3. Lately- The Helio Sequence (Christian’s POV)

Lately, I don’t think of you at all Or wonder what you’re up to, or how you’re getting on I never think of calling you, or how things could have been Or wonder where you sleep at night, or whose arms you wake in

4. The Reason- Hoobastank (Christian repents for his mistakes)

I’m not a perfect person There’s many things I wish I didn’t do But I continue learning I never meant to do those things to you

5. Never Grow Up- Taylor Swift (Elizabeth to Lizzie)

Don’t you ever grow up, it could stay this simple I won’t let nobody hurt you, won’t let no one break your heart And no one will desert you Just try to never grow up, never grow up

6. Need You Now- Taylor Swift (As the story progresses….)

Said I wouldn’t call but I’ve lost all control and I need you now.

7. Far Away- Nickelback (Elizabeth’s birthday)

I have loved you all along And I miss you Been far away for far too long